If there’s one thing you know about Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, it’s that he’s going to bring more defenders after the quarterback than just about anybody else in the league. Last season, the Vikings ranked first in the NFL with a blitz rate of 51.5%, though their pressure rate of 21.9% was far more middle of the pack.
So, while it’s highly likely that star edge-rusher Danielle Hunter will be on the move in free agency, the Vikings reinforced their edges with two highly interesting pass-rushers. Minnesota agreed to terms with former Texans defender Jonathan Greenard, and also with former Dolphins defender Andrew Van Ginkel. Van Ginkel was selected by the Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2019 draft out of Wisconsin, and as Flores was Miami’s head coach from 2019-2021, there’s some familiarity there.
Greenard played in a Houston Texans defense in which blitzing was hardly the order of the day — Houston blitzed on just 21% of their snaps last season — but when Greenard was involved in some sort of extra pressure, he was able to make the most of it.
16 of Jonathan Greenard's 53 pressures last season came on some sort of blitz or overload, and he has extreme quickness (both laterally and to the pocket) to take advantage. I think Brian Flores will enjoy that. pic.twitter.com/d3ysKDy86n
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) March 11, 2024
As for Van Ginkel, who also had 53 pressures last season, a full 32 came on some kind of blitz, and he was more than happy to be an Agent of Chaos when that happened.
Andrew Van Ginkel had 32 of his 53 pressures last season out of blitz/overload, and he has a real knack for creating disorder all over the field. Brian Flores is obviously familiar with his modus operandi. pic.twitter.com/OjXg9l7F7k
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) March 11, 2024
So, while he may lose Hunter in free agency, Flores has two new pieces to his ornate defense who can really get things done.
